


Another Side Another Line

by DarkMage13



Series: Written Lines [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Edgelord Roxas, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Semi-Slow Burn, So much drama and angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2019-11-29 05:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18219107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMage13/pseuds/DarkMage13
Summary: "A fragmented tale. A world without you."Roxas always knew something lied within Organization XIII's motives. The road to gaining Kingdom Hearts and becoming a whole person was never a smooth one. When he meets the girl in white and experiences flashbacks to a life he never knew of, his investigation will uncover another side to a truth. A truth that will tear away everything from him.Prequel to Lines In-Between.





	1. The Key of Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prequel to my AU Lines In-Between. This will not be following 358/2 Days' storyline aside from a few plot beats (such as Castle Oblivion). Xion will appear in this story, under a much different role.
> 
> Also Roxas likes wearing his hood up a lot.

_With an indifferent face you tell a lie, laughing until you feel sick._

My name is Sora.

Moments ago I had just stabbed myself with the keyblade to free hearts.

I did it for her.

And I would do it again.

An emptiness within me filled my entire body. What is this?

But I could sense it. Her light. So warm. So bright. I needed it. I needed to follow it…

How could I when I wasn't even remotely close to it.

What was happening?

I blinked.

Heavy blond bangs swayed in my face, the tips brushing against my lips.

Where was I? Why was the light walking away? Come back! I needed you.

I blinked again.

Forest surrounded me. I gasped for air for a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Her light was coming closer. Yes! Yes, I feel relieved…so warm. Her hug was calming. My shoulders relaxed.

She was my light.

It was gone.

What just happened?

I blinked.

Who was I? How did I even get here? Why did this…happen?

No feeling. No nothing.

A swirling abyss formed before me. A man in black stepped out.

"You seek answers," a deep, deep voice from the hood of the man spoke.

Indeed I did.

Why was I so empty?

"You feel nothing. You are nothing. I can give you purpose."

Purpose in what? This life?

What possible purpose could this man give me?

He put his hand in front of me. Translucent letters hovered in the air.

S o r a.

With a swish of his hand, the letter spun around me. He pressed his hand to the center, a golden X in place.

I straightened up, reading the letters through my heavy bangs. "Roxas."

"That is right, the new you." He presented a black coat to me. "Welcome to the Organization, Number XIII."

* * *

_Chapter I: Key of Destiny_

"Roxas, we have a meeting today," Number VII, Saïx said to me as I stared outside my window. "Axel will show you how to get to the Room Where Nothing Gathers."

Hammer it in that we feel nothing why don't you.

"Heya Roxas," Number VIII, Axel, walked into my room.

I turned around to look up at him through my bangs. Those red spikes of his must have stabbed someone in the eye at some point.

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Something I can help you with there, chatterbox?"

I said nothing, staring down at the floor and pulling my hood tighter.

"Oh right we're supposed to convene in the Round Room today, blegh, meetings," Axel said, crossing his arms.

My throat was dry. "Round…Room?" I said.

"That's the nickname of the place," Axel explained. "'The Room Where Nothing Gathers' is obnoxiously long so everyone else sans Saïx calls it that." He looked at me as I gave no response. "Well then, we gotta introduce you to the crew so let's get moving."

He practically shoved me out of my room and down the hallway.

The Round Room was all white, with 12 tall chairs arranged in a circle.

"Good tidings friends," Number I, the Superior, spoke with his booming voice. "Let us all welcome the keyblade's chosen. Number XIII, the Key of Destiny."

Axel shoved me forward. I looked up to see the Superior sitting with his hand on his chin; a smirk of amusement on his lips.

I turned my head to observe the other members sitting in their towering chairs.

Color. Their hair was all different colors.

Our superior. His hair was silver and shined in the light.

Number II, Xigbar, who wore an eye patch. Streaks of gray painted his black hair.

Number III, Xaldin. His black hair was styled into dreadlocks.

Number IV, Vexen. Pale dirty hair framed his scowling face.

Number V, Lexaeus, as tall as a mountain. Ginger hair.

Number VI, Zexion, whose nose was always in a book. Steel blue hair fell on his right side of his face, obscuring his eye.

Number VII, Saïx. Second in command. Hair as bright blue as a harvest moon.

Number VIII, Axel, the one I would recognize from his smirk alone. Red hair, like flames.

Number IX, Demyx, who had an odd slouch. Had dirty blond hair in some sort of a mullet.

Number X, Luxord, his hand fiddling with a card. Light blond hair trimmed to perfection.

Number XI, Marluxia. Pink hair of a cherry blossom flowed in layers to his shoulders.

Number XII, Larxene, with her glare biting. Yellow hair, like lightning, was slicked back with two thick strands sitting up.

My hood obscured my hair. My impossibly spikey hair.

* * *

I had learned how to open a dark corridor. Saïx said I was to make a corridor and go to a place called the Dark Margin, where the Superior waited for me.

I stepped out of the corridor and the Superior was sitting on a rock, his hood up. "You have arrived. I've been to see him."

Him? Who?

"He looks a lot like you," he said.

"Who…are you," I croaked.

"I'm what's left. Or, maybe I am all that ever was."

I looked down. "I meant your name."

"My name is of no importance," he looked at me. His orange eyes pierced the shadow of his hood. "What about you, do you remember your true name?"

"My true name is…" I couldn't say any more.

* * *

I was in the Grey Area. It was…grey.

Other members sat on couches.

"Roxas, you will be starting your first mission today," Saïx said to me. He looked to Axel leaning against the window. "Axel will oversee your progress."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Are you making me the kid's mentor now?"

"Yes. Teach him well," Saïx conjured up a dark corridor with his hand.

Axel gestured to the portal. "Don't worry, I will make sure he makes the grade. Well now Roxas, go on in."

I stepped forward without a word. Darkness swallowed me whole.

A light at the end of the tunnel shimmered. I was in a dark bricked area now.

I swallowed, throat still dry. "Roxas," I spoke. "That's…my name."

Axel placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, that's right. That's your name. How 'bout my name then?"

"Axel," I said, drawing out each syllable I could muster.

"Got it memorized?" Axel sounded almost…glad to hear that. "And our boss' name?"

Mindlessly I said my answer. "Xemnas."

"No way you're gonna forget his name right?" Axel said, taking his hand off of my shoulder. "This is where I will show you the ropes of how missions work."

I tilted my head up to look him in the eye. "What is a…mission?"

Axel lifted his finger up to explain but stopped. "Well, a mission is…Errr. They're…hmm ya' know…"

I stared blankly at him. So much for learning, I guess.

"You know what talking is dumb. Let's just get our hands dirty," Axel said. "Follow me up this ledge."

He walked over to a high ledge in the dark alley and climbed up.

I pulled myself up the ledge with my arms shaking. I tripped over my coat and fell flat on my face.

Axel held out his hand to me and pulled me back up. "Hopefully Saïx won't yell at me if you get hurt…" he muttered. "Right. You can climb things. Yay. Now your real mission is to find a chest somewhere in these passages."

"A chest? That's all?" I said.

"Yeah, don't hurt yourself," Axel leaned back on the wall. "Off you go then."

I wandered around the alley, Axel watching me as he ate an apple. Thanks for the help.

I eventually turned a corner and before me was a chest.

Axel must've noticed my pause in surprise because he walked over and spotted the chest. "Well well, you found it."

I stood there, unmoving. "Okay."

"Uhh Roxas, chests typically have stuff in them," Axel explained to me.

"So…I open it right?"

"Yes, you open it."

I placed my hands on the chest and pushed forward. It refused to budge. "It's locked."

"And you have the key to it."

"I do?"

Axel stared at me in disbelief. "Your keyblade. Summon it and it will open the chest."

I held out my hand. In a flash of light and sparkles, appeared a silver keyblade in my grip. The teeth were made of a crown. I tapped the chest and the chest magically opened.

Axel clapped. "Bravo. So whaddaya think of this whole mission business?"

I turned to Axel, keyblade still in hand. "I could have done this blindfolded," I replied, insulted by how brain dead this mission was.

He laughed. "I don't think I want a blindfolded zombie on the loose. Alright alright smart aleck, you passed. Mission complete. Time to return to the castle, or RTC for short. But first, the icing on the cake."

I tilted my head. "The…icing on the cake?"

He took me to a clock tower. The low sun was red, making everything orange and red. I sat down on the ledge and he handed me a blue ice cream on a stick.

"The icing on the cake," he said.

I took a bite of the treat. Axel's eyes widened at how I took a bite with my front teeth. "It's…salty. And sweet," I said. I ate more and more until there was none left.

Axel still had half of his uneaten. "Anything else to say about it?"

I looked forward at the sunset, shaking my head in silence.

"Okay chatterbox," Axel muttered.

For some reason or another, I was amused at his frustration.

* * *

"Roxas, your mission is with Marluxia today," Saïx told me.

Ah. The pink haired one. Marluxia stared at my right hand with fascination. "Hello, Roxas. Welcome to the fold."

What was so interesting about my hand?

He opened a corridor to Twilight Town. I stepped out into a sandlot, no one around.

"So Roxas," Marluxia said. "I never introduced myself. I am Number XI, Marluxia."

"And what, exactly, am I supposed to be doing here?" I said. I knew his name already.

Not like I had much else to do except memorizing all their names.

Marluxia smirked. "Hmph. Your job is to collect hearts."

"And how do I do that?" That was a weird job.

"Summon your keyblade for me?"

Just thinking about it made it appear in my right hand.

Marluxia's smirk grew wider. "The Chosen One of the Keyblade. The only Nobody who can use such a weapon."

The only one…The only one who can use the keyblade?

Black bug-like things popped out of the ground. "Oh look, your target," Marluxia said. "Go eliminate them with the keyblade, Roxas."

I walked over and lifted it up. The bug stared at me, before twitching to attack me. I swiped at it and it was gone in an instant. I swiped at the other two, and they were gone as well.

"Those are called shadows. The most common of Heartless," Marluxia explained. "Your job, however, is to fight emblem heartless, not pure-bloods like those."

Three more Heartless appeared before me. They were yellow with a black and red symbol on their bodies. They twitched as they floated in the air. I poised my keyblade to fight. I leaped into the air, like it was second nature to me, and eliminated the Heartless in one massive slash.

From their bodies burst forth hearts.

Marluxia eyed my keyblade with wonder. "Ah, yes, the keyblade's power, so great. You're the best hope the Organization could have ever gotten."

"And what, exactly, do these hearts do?" I asked. "Why do we need them?"

Marluxia answered, "To create Kingdom Hearts and gain hearts of our own." He put a finger on his chin. "At least that's what Xemnas says…" he muttered.

I tilted my head. "Huh?"

Marluxia waved me off. "You've collected hearts. You're free to go."

* * *

Saïx gave me a journal to keep my thoughts and recollections in.

What do I even write in this thing?

I referred to everyone by their numbers, to keep track of them.

Axel was Number VIII. Saïx was VII.

I was Number XIII.

The Key of Destiny.

I summoned my keyblade to my hand in my room. "Kingdom Key," I said to myself. That was its name.

Why did I have this in the first place? "The only Nobody who can wield one."

* * *

What's a Nobody?" I asked Number VI, Zexion.

Zexion showed me around Twilight Town, telling me no matter what my mission was, one thing was always constant.

Collect hearts.

Zexion stopped and turned to face me. "A Nobody is an incomplete being. We lack hearts. You collecting hearts will get us closer to getting hearts of our own." He shut his book closed. "They will form Kingdom Hearts, and complete us."

Kingdom Hearts…

* * *

Number XII, Larxene, had a biting tongue. "Ugh, why do I have to babysit you?"

My eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

"Do I look like I run a nursery school?" She pointed to herself. "Well, do I?"

"I don't know, you look like you run the whining school," I mumbled.

"What? What you got something to say?" She sneered.

"Maybe I do," I said, crossing my arms. "Are you gonna keep complaining or you going to teach me magic and get this over with."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Think of the element you want, either a memory…wait you lack those, ugh. Whatever. Think of fire, fire will happen."

I held out my hand and conjured up a fiery orb. The orb bounced off my hand and smacked right into an unsuspecting heartless. "There. Are we are done now?"

Larxene rolled her eyes. "Right. We're in deep trouble if you're the keyblade wielder carrying us through our goals. Blegh, Marluxia must be lying…"

I told myself never to run missions with Larxene again.

* * *

My silence annoyed Axel to no end.

I wondered how long I could keep this up.

Every day after missions I walked up to the clock tower with sea-salt ice cream and ate without a word to Axel.

He would try to say something to me, and I would give short replies or none at all.

"Talk about a man of few words…Lexaeus is more chatty than you are," Axel grumbled.

I had to bend my head down to hide my smirk.

* * *

Vexen had his head in his notebook the entire time we were assigned to our mission.

"I'm assuming you can read, right?" He questioned me while scribbling something down.

"Uh, yeah?" I quirked an eyebrow. This guy was weird.

"And your keyblade…Does it have a name?"

"Kingdom Key," I said without a thought.

"And do you remember anything before you became a Nobody?"

"Nope," I said, popping the p syllable.

"Hmm yes good, now, what do you see before you, Roxas?"

I looked around. "It's a town."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. It's a town. Tell me more."

"It's the heart of this town since there are shops and stuff," I said. "What's the point of all this anyways? Is this a mission or is this 20 questions?"

Vexen looked like he was gonna have a stroke. "You…There's tons of data to collect here, boy! Heartless population, how many people live here, our environmental obstacles. Our intelligence gathered beforehand allows us to do our missions with ease.

Somehow I highly doubt that his questions about my keyblade's name or my past had something to do with assessments of our environment.

He sighed. "Your mind wasn't cut out for this, was it? But you're not off the hook yet, boy. If I let you quit with these results I'd be a laughing stock of the castle. Analyze the data before you Roxas, lest I let you remain to be an idiot."

I looked around again, feeling insulted. "Alright old man, I will observe better."

"You insolent-"

I cut him off. "The sun is always in a perpetual state of twilight. The town was built to reflect that. The clothing shop sells loose fitting clothes, unlike our heavy black coats. The ice cream shop is frequented the most, judging the line I always see coming here; the heartless prefer dark places out of sight." I pointed to a hole in the wall. "And there's a hole leading to the woods. What are the woods? Who knows, people don't really go there so it's not a place full of people. Anything else you need me to drone on about or can I leave?"

Vexen put up his finger to retort, but couldn't do it. Bingo. "…Fine. You can leave. But, one more thing."

I tilted my head. "What?"

"Do you know how you got that keyblade?"

I shrugged as I walked towards the dark corridor. "I don't know."

* * *

Lexaeus was much taller when you stood before him in person.

"Do you know how to fight at your absolute limit?" he asked me, as we stood in the sandlot.

"Limit?" I tilted my head. "No?"

A giant shadow heartless crawled out of the ground.

"It is when you're fighting at your strongest to survive. Time for some practical application," Lexaeus said.

"Practical application?" I said, right before he decked me in the face. I was sent flying across the lot, sliding on my back on the ground.

"What the-What wazz th-that for?!" I yelled. My jaw hurt like someone dislocated it. He probably did.

"Now you're on your last legs," Lexaeus explained. "Fight the heartless."

I pushed myself back up. Weakness shook my legs and arms, and pain stabbed my face. Ow…

Keyblade in hand, I wobbled over to the giant heartless. I swung at it with a limp noodle of an arm.

It lashed its claws out at me, scratching my arm. "Ouch!" I held my arm. I huffed and puffed for air. Practical application my butt. I pushed myself forward, utilizing all my strength to press on and defeat the heartless.

I slid to the side of the heartless and stabbed it with my keyblade. It vanished.

I collapsed to my knees. "I…did it…"

Lexaeus looked me over. "Indeed you did. Think of this mission as an exercise in pushing yourself to survive on solo missions…and to watch what you say to your superiors."

Oh, so that's what this was all about? "Yeah yeah, I get it," I said, wiping my mouth. He handed me a potion and I gulped it down.

* * *

"Heya Roxas," Axel greeted me in the morning. Finally, I wasn't going to be stuck with the other weirdos of the Organization today.

I yawned. "Axel?"

"You and me are assigned on a mission today," he said. "I am to aid you in collecting more hearts."

I nodded. Just how long was it gonna be till he catches on?

After our mission, Axel and I sat on the clock tower, ice creams in hand. I ate away, but Axel glared at his treat.

"Why is it you won't speak more than 5 syllables sheesh. I have to hand in my report today on you to Saïx and I highly doubt he will be happy to read "still acts like a zombie!" He continued his rant for about 5 minutes.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started laughing.

He stopped and stared at me. "You've been messing with me the entire time?"

"I couldn't help myself, your face was priceless," I laughed, falling back on the ledge. "Still afraid to let a zombie loose?"

Axel glared at me, reaching over and grasping the metal beaded string of my hood. "Only if a zombie looks like this." He yanked on the chain, the thread pulling my hood too tight over my head and face. I shoved him off and opened my hood up so I could see again.

Sitting back up, I glared at Axel, who was laughing. "Touché."

We settled into silence once more. He finished his ice cream.

"So, got any questions?" he asked me. "Since you've finished a full week of missions?"

"I…What is a heart?"

Axel dropped his stick. "Errr, it's what allows us to feel emotions. Like happiness, sadness, anger, all those."

"What is it like, having emotions?" I looked down at the bottom of the clock tower. "Vexen asked me a slew of questions and I couldn't even answer half of them…"

Axel pointed to his temple. "Most Nobodies can fake our emotions because we remember what it was like. And believe me, remembering what it was like, it's something worth getting. That's why the Organization wants Kingdom Hearts. Complete us. Gain new hearts of our own. Xemnas leads us to the goal, and he is lucky to have found you, the only one who can unlock hearts from the heartless."

"I guess…I don't remember what it was like. So far," I said, almost mumbling my words. "It seems like such a big deal…But I don't understand it at all."

"Maybe one day you'll understand, when you regain your memories or gain a heart of your own."

* * *

Xemnas was lucky to have found me. Me. The only Nobody who can collect hearts and complete Kingdom Hearts.

Yet, even as I stared at my keyblade in my room, something bothered me.

What Marluxia said about our goals. Xemnas was our leader, the Superior. Surely he had control and knew what he was doing, right?

I would have to ask Number XI himself.

"Roxas," Saïx didn't even bother with the greetings whenever I entered the Grey Area. "Your assignment today is with Marluxia. Find this heartless and exterminate it." He presented a photo of a pink-petal plant heartless.

"Alright," I took the photo and put it in my coat pocket.

Marluxia followed after me through the dark corridor into Twilight Town, his pink scythe in hand.

"Well then, shall we?" Marluxia said, gesturing to the hole in the wall. "Plant heartless like foliage."

I nodded, ducking down into the hole in the wall. Trees covered the perpetual sunlight, streaks of its rays struggling to get in.

Before me was a giant plant heartless, bigger than any of the others. Its petals were pink.

"Found our target," Marluxia said.

I cast fire out of the tip of my keyblade right at the plant. Marluxia sliced at the seeds it fired at us. I leapt over Marluxia's head and set fire to the heartless once more. Bashing my keyblade into it, a giant heart burst forth from the roots and faded into the air.

I put my keyblade away. "Done," I said.

Marluxia nodded. "Well done. You've become proficient with your keyblade already, almost as if it's second nature to you."

I shrugged. "I guess."

Marluxia turned to return to the castle.

"Wait," I stopped him. "I have one question."

He turned back around, his pink hair swaying. "What is it?"

"What did you mean by 'that's what Xemnas says?'" I asked.

His lips curled up into a smirk. "Aren't you the perceptive one. You're smart, you'll eventually figure it out in due time, Roxas, Chosen of the Keyblade." He walked away, leaving me even more confused.

I climbed to the top of the clock tower, where Axel already finished his mission and his ice cream.

"Hey slowpoke," he teased, handing me an ice cream. "I gotta leave early today so my treat."

"Where are you going?" I asked, then taking a bite out of my ice cream.

"Eh, gotta prepare to leave for Castle Oblivion. A bunch of members are being sent there and I am one of them.

"Oh." I took another bite. "When will you be back?"

He shrugged. "Not sure. Got some important top secret stuff to do there. You just keep on keeping on."

I looked down at my frozen treat. "Right."

_You're smart, you'll figure it out._

"Roxas?" Axel asked me in concern. "Don't go all silent on me again."

I shook my head. "No, nothing is wrong. Long day."

Axel sighed and sat back against the wall. "Tell me about it." He stood up. "See ya later Roxas."

I finished my ice cream to find the stick said "WINNER" on it. What did this mean?

The sunset was extra red today. I would ask Axel before he left.

* * *

_Secret Report I_

Axel's report on Number XIII proved my hypothesis correct. He was, in fact, able to unlock any lock with his keyblade, which meant he could unleash the hearts inside the emblem heartless. Just like Sora.

Ah, Sora. The boy took back his memories, leaving Roxas with none if any reports by Vexen are to go by. Saïx has already set the boy to work, though he certainly is a moody teenager.

Reminds me of…No. I don't remember at all.

Once Number XI and XII are disposed of, it's only a matter of time before Roxas completes Kingdom Hearts.

It's all according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading the first chapter of my short side fanfiction companion piece to Lines In-Between. Each secret report will not be written by the same person each time, and none will be written by Roxas.


	2. Unto Oblivion

_Chapter II: Unto Oblivion_

_Wanting-what-you-can't-have-Blues._

_Everybody is yearning for peace of mind._

Where was Axel? Did he leave already?

"Axel?" I asked down the hallway near his room. Saïx walked past me.

"If you're looking for Axel he already departed for Castle Oblivion," he said.

I stood there, popsicle stick in hand. I stuck it in my pocket. I would ask him about it when he returned.

Day after day passed. In my room, I would stare at the popsicle stick in my fingers. WINNER.

What did I win? I shoved it back

(Un)fortunately for me, I got stuck working with other Organization members.

My mission today was with Xigbar, Number II.

Oh, joy.

Xigbar's single eye inspected me as Saïx handed me the mission brief.

"You are to gather intel about this world," Saïx informed me. "Keep Number II in line."

Xigbar tossed up his hands in disbelief. "Whoa, I don't need a babysitter. I am appalled by your lack of faith in me, Number VII."

Saïx simply shoved the mission report into his hands and left open a corridor of darkness for us.

Xigbar's smirk never left his face the entire way we walked through the In-Betwixt and In-Between.

"So kiddo..."

I tilted my head up just enough for my hooded eyes to glare at him.

He continued on. "Rumor has it there's some funky business going on in Castle Oblivion. Do you know of anything?"

I shrugged. "How should I know?"

The words of Marluxia came back to me.

_You're smart, you'll eventually figure it out in due time._

Stepping out of the corridor, heat smacked me in the head. Blazing light blinded me. This coat was suddenly a death trap for heat. Sweat began to form all over my body already.

As my eyes adjusted to the blast of light, I noticed one very, very important detail.

There was sand. Everywhere.

"Wow, Saïx you could at least send us in white leather coats instead..." Xigbar pulled at his collar, trying to cool himself down. "Come on, the faster we move it the faster we leave this oven of a world."

A sand-filled oven. I stumbled forward. So hot. So...suffocating.

I blinked my eyes to focus on what was in front of me. A stall. I then looked up at the blinding sky. A headache formed in my skull. The walls were high, pieces of brick crumbling off. Scaffolding hung off the sides, hammers and buckets resting on the planks.

"Looks like recent damage was dealt to the city..." I muttered.

Xigbar brushed his glove over the stones. "Aren't you astute. Some sort of sandstorm hit this place hard."

That explains the sand everywhere.

My head throbbed as I stumbled forward. "Aren't sandstorms common for a place like this?"

Xigbar shook his head. "Not the type to deal this much damage."

I squinted, trying so hard to see in the blaring light. "So you're saying this is an unnatural sandstorm."

"Bingo! Man, you're very on top of things tiger. Guess Vexen's report was right." He looked down an archway, then back around to face an enormous gate. "We're right in front of a palace."

"What makes you think that?" I asked, trying to observe the gate with fail. Man, it was hot. I wiggled my coat to cool off.

"It's more ornate and expensive-looking than the entire rest of the town. I wonder if there's royalty in there." Xigbar brushed his finger over the carvings. "Welp, not gonna go in there anyway, lest we wanna get caught and beheaded. Better move along."

I could have sworn I was seeing a guy in red next to Xigbar. Pounding. Pounding. Lips dry. "Sure...Right," I muttered.

Xigbar waved his hand in front of me. "Hey, kiddo you alive?"

The guy in red was holding my keyblade. I reached out to him with my hand.

* * *

"Let Kairi go!"

"I am sorry Sora. I'm not the person who is important to you."

"You've defeated Axel."

"Let Naminé go!"

"Erase Sora's memory."

"So how could I destroy his heart? There's no way! I don't care what happens to me. I won't hurt Sora! I won't do it!"

A girl in white stood before me, a sad smile upon her lips.

"Huh?" I spoke. "Who are you?"

She simply turned around and walked away.

"Come back! Wait! That...was you wasn't it?" I asked her. "That was your pain."

She stopped, nodding without looking at me.

I placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at me through red strands. My brown bangs swayed as I nodded back at her, my white-gloved hand still on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

* * *

My eyes snapped open. It was all a dream. Just a dream.

Something happened to Axel. And who was...Kairi? Sora?

And the girl in white? Who was she? And why does seeing her so sad make my gut drop?

I got up from my bed, all my muscles aching. I cracked my knuckles, my shoulders, my neck. How long had I been asleep? When did I fall asleep? I zipped up my coat and stood up. Ugh. I felt heavy. I stumbled forward, trying to regain my sense of walking.

Walking down the hallway and into the Grey Area, no one was there. The silence was deafening.

I turned back around, only to be faced with a Nobody I had never seen before. There was the Dusks, the Assassins controlled by Axel, the Berserkers by Saïx, the Snipers by Xigbar, but I hadn't seen this one once. It was a steel blue and grey, two blades in an x-shape on its back.

My liege.

I tilted my head. "Huh?"

It bowed to me. What did this Nobody want with me? "Where is Saïx?" I asked it. With another bow, the Nobody simply walked away.

That was that I guess.

I opened a portal and left to Twilight Town.

Sitting upon the clocktower, I thought about my dreams. I was fighting Axel with my own keyblade. Marluxia was impressed that I had defeated him. Even if the dream wasn't real, the sinking feeling something happened to him still remained.

I looked over the town. At the edge of the main hub was the forest and some sort of older building poking out of the trees. How odd.

Climbing back down the tower I made my way through the streets. Teenagers ran past me, laughing. About what, I didn't know. Down in the tram common, I found the same hole in the wall. I ducked down into the hole into the woods. Sunlight poured in through the tree leaves, spots of light illuminating the grass. What was behind here?

I came upon a clearing and found a large mansion. The courtyard was closed behind a gate. This place was familiar but...I didn't remember a thing about it. Why didn't I remember? Why couldn't I remember?

This place only served to remind me of one thing, that I had no memories to go off of. I was born with nothing. And nothing, I should ever have.

I thought about Axel, who was gone. A choked feeling in my throat rose. He was simply...gone. Possibly forever. I didn't need confirmation for that.

And the girl in my dreams...Who was she? And why did I suddenly miss her too?

Walking back into town, I just stood around, looking at things. The lamp posts were lit to signal the end of the day, the eternal sunset would fall for a mere few hours then return.

By the ice cream shop were three teenagers all having a bar of sea-salt ice cream. One of them was a girl in orange. The other two were guys, one dressed in camouflage pants and the other in a red t-shirt. Two of them laughed while the one in camo had a silly looking face.

I blinked. Suddenly there weren't those three anyone laughing. Now I saw a guy who looked just like me, save for the brown hair, making silly faces, while a girl with red hair and a guy with silver hair laughed.

My gut burned with envy. I wanted that so much, and I didn't know why. I pulled my hood over my face tighter and left.

* * *

I went back to the castle, walking the hallways with my head down. Footsteps alerted me to someone. I looked up and Xemnas stood in front of me.

"You're awake at last," he said in his booming voice. A smirk crept up his lips. "Excellent. Be sure to prepare yourself for tomorrow's work."

And he brushed past me, leaving it at that.

I slept so much I was wide awake at the stroke of midnight. I sat up on my bed, my journal open. I wrote what I could think of, everything I could think of. How I felt when the realization of Axel being gone hit me. When that got old, I thought about the feelings in my gut. These were the result of...Something.

I didn't have a heart, but I sure did feel like I had one. I rolled over and stared outside my window into the endless abyss of The World That Never Was.

Tomorrow came, and I had only one goal: collect hearts, so I may gain one of my own.

But then another thought plagued me. That mansion. Perhaps I could...No. Saïx wouldn't approve.

My curiosity was far far too great.

Walking into the grey area at the first chance in the early morning, Saïx was the only one there. He organized reports on a table.

"Ah, Lord Xemnas informed me you were awake," Saïx said, not even bothering to look at me. He picked up a paper and handed it to me. "I will take it easy on you for one day since you're out of practice, but tomorrow is a full workload."

"What happened at Castle Oblivion?" I asked.

Saïx didn't even flinch at the question. "The entire team was eliminated."

My gut sank. It was true.

"Get to work," Saïx said curtly.

I nodded and opened a dark corridor to Twilight Town.

Globs of shadow littered the entire back alley. Like...huge purple and black globs. Where did these even come from?

I summoned my keyblade and slashed it down on the glob in front of me. Then I looked up and saw one on the wall...And the roof?

I sighed. So much for a low workload. When I finished, I put my keyblade away and huffed for air. My legs and arms ached.

"Heya Roxas," the familiar and startling voice of Axel called behind me.

Eyes wide, I slowly turned around. I could just be imagining things, but there he was, standing there with not a single scratch.

He had a grin on his face. "It's been a while."

I just stood there, mouth gaping. Did Saïx lie to me? What was I supposed to be feeling at this very moment? Surprise? Relief? Anger?

I was confused more than anything. "Axel?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

It took me a second to get my jaw to move. "I heard everyone at Castle Oblivion was annihilated..."

Axel waved that comment off. "Not me, I'm tough," he said with a bemused smile.

I shook my head, spitting out my words before I could think. "I was worried. I thought you were...gone."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Worry? We Nobodies don't have the hearts to worry, ya know?"

Right. I had no heart. Why was I even remotely concerned about the emotions I carried? They were fake. I was only pretending. "Right...So, sea-salt ice cream?"

"You read my mind, my friend," Axel said with a chuckle.

He has a lot of explaining to do.

The two of us sat upon the clock tower. I devoured my ice cream, not realizing I was starving all day.

My eyes drifted over to the forest in the distance. Perhaps I would investigate another day. "Say, Axel?" I said out loud. "What makes um...What's a friend?"

Axel paused in his attempt to take another bite out of his ice cream. "Umm well. Friendship is just...Doing stuff together with someone you enjoy the company of like, we sit up here and eat a treat while watching the sunset." He gestured down below to the three teenagers I saw yesterday running around. "Or pal around with your friends and experience happiness together." Axel leaned back against the clock. "Someone you can trust with some things."

Pal around. Enjoy the company of. Happiness. Trust.

"So what happened at Castle Oblivion?" I questioned.

He closed his eyes. "In due time I will tell you."

* * *

_Secret Report II_

Roxas was awake at long last. The reports of Castle Oblivion were accurate. Sora is asleep. Roxas awakes. Naminé, however, is missing. The pesky girl escaped, along with Sora's slumbering body.

Axel said he could not find her, but I find it to be suspect.

Ah Naminé, her existence was a boon to my plans. But now, she was gone and threw all my plans into disarray for now. As long as Sora slumbers and Roxas does as he is told, things will go as I needed. Saïx disposed of Number XI and Number XII, but also Number IV got caught in the crossfire. The replica program is terminated, with some degree of success. I must have Saïx lock down his lab.

Meanwhile, Roxas has some catching up to do, and I must make a trip to Hollow Bastion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this took too long and it was too short for my liking. Oh well. This fic will be updated more before I move back to Lines In-Between and finish that off.
> 
> Anyways, Happy Rokunami Week!


	3. Naminé

_Chapter III: Naminé_

_My days that were so boring began to shine from that day that you came into my life._

_I felt alright even in solitude and in pain._

* * *

Boredom didn't cut the description. My mind was staring at the ceiling of my bedroom wondering about nothing.

Axel has been oddly chatty lately on the clocktower ever since he came back. So chatty it's been taking up all spare time after missions and I cannot get away to investigate that mansion.

Every time I asked about Castle Oblivion he simply dodged the question. When was due time? Was Castle Oblivion that secret that he couldn't tell me, his own...friend?

Is that what we were? Friends?

Yeah. We were. He said some secrets. Some meant not all.

I fell asleep at last.

When I woke up something felt...Different today. I got up and walked to the Grey Area. Demyx was eating ramen, Xigbar was reading the newspaper, Xaldin was sharpening a lance, and Luxord was organizing his cards.

Axel was blowing his nose. "Stupid cold," he muttered from his position against the wall.

I looked up at him. "You're sick?"

He nodded, pulling another tissue out of the box he was holding. "Waiting on Saïx's verdict for my mission."

Speaking of Number VII and he shall appear. "Axel," he spoke, not even phased in his tone by the sight of Axel with dark rings around his eyes and a red nose. "You are required to return to your room and must undergo treatment to catch up on your work soon."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Axel waved him off, walking away slowly with the tissue box tucked underneath his arm. "I will see ya later Roxas. I have to dip out on our meet up."

I nodded. "Feel better, Axel." He looked awful. Very awful.

He looked back at me with a smile. "Thanks."

Perhaps I should bring him something after my work was done.

"Roxas, get to work," Saïx ordered, handing me a paper and walking off. "And Demyx you're picking up Axel's slack today."

Number IX set down his ramen with a whine. "Aww, why do I have to do it?"

"Because your last mission report was only half complete. No excuses," Saïx said with a glare. I could have sworn his x-shaped scar flared up for a moment.

Demyx grabbed the missive in Saïx's hand and fled through a dark corridor. I snapped my fingers and entered my own corridor.

Defeat a Darkside in Twilight Town. How hard could that be?

I strolled up the hill to the Station Plaza.

A giant heartless with tendrils and a gaping heart-shaped hole in its chest slammed its fist, sending me flying against the ground. Ow. I sat up and my eyes widened at just how huge the Heartless was. I didn't even think they could get this big.

Keyblade in my grip, I took a deep breath. "Okay then," I muttered under my breath, tucking in my hood. "You asked for it!" I ran at the Darkside, its fist still stuck in the ground. Purple darkness swirled out. Small shadows twitched up from the ground. "Great, small fry too." I swiped them away like flies.

The Darkside pulled his fist out. The empty heart-formed an orb of darkness within, sparks of energy crackling. The orbs shot out one by one, all tracking in towards me. I sidestepped each one, my keyblade in front of me in case one slipped in. The Darkside slammed its fist towards me again. I stumbled as I rolled out of the way, landing on my knees. Using Kingdom Key to get back up I saw my opportunity. I leaped up onto its fist and ran up the arm. Its large glowing eyes met mine for a second before I swung the keyblade with all my weight at its head.

It froze before fading in ashes into oblivion. I landed on my feet, stumbling forward and nearly tripping on my coat. I huffed for air.

That Heartless was huge. And I had a sinking feeling that there were more like it.

My mission was complete. No Axel to have ice cream with today on the clock tower and no chatter. I was... Disappointed? It wasn't his fault he got a cold but I was still disappointed anyways.

Then it dawned on me. No Axel meant this was my opportunity. Finally, I could go investigate that mansion. There had to be something in it, right? Why else would I even be invested in wanting to know why I was drawn to it.

Dusting myself off and putting my keyblades away, I made my way down the slope and into the main town. Murmurs of the defeat of a giant shadowy creature by the train station were on the lips of the passersby.

I ducked through the hole in the wall and into the forest once more. The sunset, even when I couldn't watch it from atop the clock tower, still comforted me with spots of its rays through the branches.

Once again, even though I expected no different, the gates and the mansion were as closed and still as before. Nothing changed.

My eyes combed the place, wondering just what was within this closed-off place. Dusty statues and broken tables were my first thought. Then something caught my eye. Something slightly off.

The window on the second floor was open. The white curtains flowed from the slight breeze fanning my face. Why was it open? Was it always open? Had I missed that detail last time I looked at this place?

If I couldn't get in via the front door the window would be my second resort. Now to get inside the actual courtyard.

I was an idiot. Once hundred percent an idiot.

I took a few steps back from the wall. Vines crawled down the sides, the very end not even touching the ground. I ran and jumped up the side of the wall, my hands latching onto the vines. I was a lot heavier than I anticipated, for it was a struggle pulling myself up to grab the ledge. I was halfway over the wall and I realized...I was in no comfortable position to be able to get down without possible injury or tearing the vines that would allow me to leave.

Only one thing left I could do. I rolled myself off the ledge and landed on my back.

Ow.

I sat back up. The door wasn't too far now. After that giant Heartless and falling off a ten-foot wall I was surprised I was able to get back up. I walked over to the door and to my surprise...There was no doorknob at all. What kind of a door doesn't have a doorknob?

I rolled my eyes. There was only one resort left to do to get inside. Climb to the second-story window. I rolled up the sleeves of my coat and flexed my fingers. There were bushes underneath the window, giving somewhat of a boost. I looked over at the broken statue ruins in the courtyard, one still standing tall enough to the height of the roof overlooking the door.

I sighed. My idiotic curiosity was going to get me flung off a building again very soon. I hopped onto the platform of the smallest ruin, and then jumped up to the next highest and then finally I was standing on top of the pillar. I jumped onto the roof, nearly slipping off into the bushes, my feet stopping my slip up at the very edge. The window was open still. I crawled over to the wall. Good, it was open to my side. I reached over to the ledge beneath the window. It was big enough for most of my feet to stand upon, but not enough to completely rest upon. With a careful stretch of my leg and my hand grasping the wooden panel of the window, I began moving down the window to the open panel off-center. I pulled myself in over the open panel and realized once again I was in a poor position to land. I rolled myself into the room, landing in a tangled mess on the floor in my coat.

An audible gasp reached my ears. There was someone in my room. I froze in my struggle, expecting something to happen. When nothing did I collected myself and stood up, observing my surroundings. The room was blinding white. Everything was white, just like the castle. I looked up under my hood to see the source of the gasp.

And there she was, the girl in my dreams.

Her flaxen hair was brushed to one side, her bangs falling freely in her face. A white dress clung to her small form. Sky blue sandals were tied on her feet. But most importantly, her eyes, blue and purple together in a harmonic blend, were so, so familiar, like the ocean. I couldn't help but stare at the girl sitting in her chair, a sketchbook clutched in her hand.

She was wide-eyed and staring at me in a mixture of fear and confusion.

Reality came slapping back to me. I was wearing a dark coat and I had just broken into her room and my hood obscured most of my face. I pulled it back just enough for her to see my eyes clearly. My heavy bangs slipped out more, but I didn't care. I just wanted her to not be utterly terrified of me right now.

"Um..." I lamely attempted to speak. "Hi?"

She inspected my face with careful attention. Her expression became one of familiarity like she knew me before.

I cleared my throat. "I'm Roxas."

She took one second before her lips curled up into a smile. "Hello, Roxas."

My face was burning. Did Axel give me that cold he got?

Her voice was so gentle and smooth. I definitely remembered it from my dreams, but she was more...angry. Defiant. Here, she wasn't like that.

"My name is Naminé," she continued. "Why are you here?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion at me.

Good question. "Something...Prompted me to come here. Mostly my own uh, curiosity?" My eyes flickered to her sketchbook then back to her eyes. "Why are you here?"

She tapped her pencil against the rings of her book. "Because where else should I go?"

Naminé had a point. It was the same with me and The Castle That Never Was. I stuck to the Organization because they took me in; I had nowhere else to go.

I nodded at her. "So..." I stared at my sneakers. "Have we met before?"

She blinked. "No, I don't think so. I have met someone who you reminded me of."

Ah, so we haven't ever met ever, or at least from what I remembered. Perhaps I met her long ago when I wasn't a Nobody wearing a black coat and had memories.

It was beginning to get late, and I still had to bring back something to cheer up Axel. "I...I have to go," I said.

Naminé nodded, her lips falling into a frown. "Please...Don't tell anyone about this place. Or about me."

She was hiding from something or someone. "Yeah. I promise."

I waved at her as I proceeded to look down from her open window. Just great. All that was there to cushion my fall was a bunch of bushes. I really needed to improve my climbing skills.

When I fell off the wall to the courtyard after clumsily stumbling out of the bushes, I looked back at the white room on the second floor.

Speaking to Naminé was like speaking to an old friend I had been missing all this time.

* * *

I barged into Axel's room, a bag full of ice cream in my grip. "Yo Axel."

He cracked an eye open form his bed, pillows squishing down his spikes. "Roxas?"

I lifted up the bag. "I'm putting these into the freezer. They're yours. I picked up various flavors to try." I turned right around and made my way to the kitchen, leaving him not even a second to contemplate my words.

The next day I went back to that mansion. With much effort, I climbed back into Naminé's room. She wasn't fazed by my entrance this time, instead, her brows furrowed in deep concentration over her drawing.

I peered over her shoulder. The drawing was of...Me. Coat and hood and all.

"Hello again, Roxas," she said.

I chuckled. "You expected me to return?"

"I kinda did, but I wasn't sure." She tapped the pencil end to her lips in thought. "I mean you put in all the effort to get in here I didn't think you would want to just walk away."

I pulled up a chair by her side, watching the drawing become more and more detailed. The chains on my hood, my black gloves, the soft spikes of my annoying bangs poking out of my hood.

"Say, Naminé," I spoke, tracing circles with my finger on the table. "Are you definitely sure we haven't met before?"

She paused in her pencil stroke. "No, I cannot recall us ever meeting before."

It slipped out of my mouth before I could even stop it. "Not even in a past life?"

Her eyes grew wide for a moment, her head turned towards me. "A past life? Like...A Nobody?"

Wait she knew what Nobodies were? "Yeah. A Nobody." Why was it so easy to talk to her? To tell her things I wouldn't share with anyone else? Not even Axel?

"I mean I am one, but I don't remember my past. I lack the memories of what I was before I became a Nobody," Naminé explained, placing down her sketchbook and pencil. Her hands were on her knees. "Strange. Why is it so easy to talk to you?"

The words choked in my mouth. I swallowed dryly, trying to register her words and respond. "Because maybe we did...Meet before, before we became Nobodies."

She looked at me oddly, curious. "Hmm..."

I heard the chime of the clock tower in the distance. Darn that bell. "I should go. See you again, Naminé."

She waved to me as I climbed out of her window. "See you again, Roxas."

* * *

That night, I flopped onto my bed, mind reeling from it all. Naminé was another Nobody, just like me. Just like the rest of the Organization. But unlike Axel, she didn't have memories of the past.

We had to have met right? There was just no way we couldn't have. She was too familiar, her presence was all too comforting. Too easy to spill my thoughts out loud, and she felt the very same. She was my friend from a past life. Perhaps we could also be friends in this one.

And I went back. Over and over. I wanted to know her more than anything. Another Nobody who carried no memories.

The week passed. I had just returned to the castle after my mission and a visit to Naminé.

Xigbar tinkered with his arrow guns, looking through the scope to test. He spotted me in my scope. "Hey, kiddo. Heard Axel's cold is lightening up and he will be able to work tomorrow."

Demyx as per usual laid upon the couch in the Grey Area, strumming his sitar. "Finally! Saïx has been shoving all his work onto me."

Xigbar pointed his scope in Demyx's general direction, causing him to flinch.

Axel was better. I should say hello and see if he tried the mountain of ice creams I bought him yet.

I made my way down to his room in the endless white hallway, thinking about how I was gonna tell him about the endless complaining Demyx did all week about the extra work.

"You're getting too attached."

I stopped in my footsteps when I heard the unmistakable voice of Saïx coming from Axel's room. The doorway was closed save for a tiny slip. I froze if he even heard me. No pause in his words allowed me some relief. I pushed myself up against the wall to peer inside and hear more clearly.

"Attached? Me? I don't know what you're talking about," Axel responded.

"Hmph. Now that cold has worn off, I can ask you with a clear head if there's any more information you can tell me about what remains in Castle Oblivion."

"Everything in the reports is all I know."

"Not even a hunch as to where Naminé is or how she escaped?"

My chest tightened at the mention of her name. Saïx wanted to know where she was. Saïx knew of her? Yet she was never mentioned, not once. Not even when I told Vexen that I lacked memories, which Saïx surely would have mentioned that detail with me, that another experienced the same as I.

_Please...Don't tell anyone about this place. Or about me._

Why did Saïx want Naminé?

"I don't know how she got out. In there one minute, gone the next," Axel waved him off. "Tell Lord Xemnas that everything in my reports is all I know. By the way," he shifted himself off his bed and stretched. "You were right about Marluxia and Larxene."

My blood ran cold. Right. I had forgotten. The rest of the Castle Oblivion team was eliminated. Who even was strong enough to take those guys on?

But it was a reminder of those vague words Marluxia left me, expecting me to figure them out.

"I merely just sent off all those who would be getting in our way," Saïx said, not an ounce of remorse or guilt in his tone.

Sheesh.

"The traitors are dealt with, as per Lord Xemnas' orders. But even so, he will not be pleased. You may be sent back to search for Naminé...Or even the chamber."

Axel looked at him with his mouth in a tight line. "You know better than I that place is impossible to search every room. Xemnas can send me all he wants he will not find what he seeks."

"I am...Merely the messenger. If you want to complain, tell Lord Xemnas yourself."

I had to leave before I got caught eavesdropping. My chest was tight with all this information. They wanted Naminé. They rounded up the traitors and sent them to their demise. They wanted a chamber.

Axel could never know about Naminé, not until I figured out why they wanted her so badly. I was right; in my own twisted gut, I knew that Saïx wasn't someone to trust. None of them were.

As I walked back to my room, trying to keep quiet with each step, a sickening feeling bubbled in my stomach. Axel was right. Most secrets we could tell each other as friends.

But Naminé was the one secret I had discovered and could never tell.

* * *

_Secret Report 3_

The big man has been even more stoic ever since Axel came back from the supposed dead. Talk about a shock when everyone from CO was thought to be toast. Xemnas really needs to calm down about that report Axel turned in about that chamber. Didn't he even realize that place was an endless maze that no one could ever hope to navigate?

And Roxas was still moody as ever. Man, this Organization needs a therapist. I wonder why Roxas was always a moody teenager, when from the reports I've heard of the other kid he's as upbeat and sees the glass half full.

Perhaps Roxas got too much of that ol' brush of darkness Sora got to turn himself into a Heartless.

I don't know what the big man has been cooking, not entirely. He hasn't even told me, but Saïx certainly knows. Saïx was stricter as a stick than even Xemnas was. Of course, Saïx could keep a secret probably better than I can.

I certainly had my own of course, can't spill the beans on everything. Now if only I knew what exactly Axel, Saïx, and Xemnas were up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I promise to finish my Rokunami Week stuff I was just dying to get this chapter out though lol)
> 
> Thank you all for the comments and kudos! It means so much! now yall can be happy having that first meeting :D


	4. Treasured Memories

_Chapter IV: Treasured Memories_

_Through sickness and in health_

_Through storms and in good weather_

_We shall walk together_

* * *

"I wonder who that guy in the black hood is though..." I said, thinking-out-loud. "'To lose is to find, and to find is to lose.'"

"That is correct." Marluxia's voice said behind us. "You seek something important to you...Even though you have it for now."

"I do?" I glared at him. "Explain?"

"Hm." Marluxia walked forward, straight to the girl with red locks. "You will do."

She backed up, hands up in fists. "Don't touch me!"

"K—i!" I yelled along with Donald, and Goofy, reaching out to save her.

Donald raised his staff. "Thunder!"

Nothing happened. The man shook his head and a dark corridor appeared behind the girl with a flick of his wrist. "I'm sure the Chilly Academic would love to ask you a few questions." He grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her in. Her form flickered from red hair to blonde hair.

"Sora!" She cried out to me. The corridor vanished.

My world was collapsing. "What did you do to her?!"

"You want to find her? Your precious one? Then continue on." Marluxia flicked a blue card at me. "Remember the rules are different...To lose is to find, and to find is to lose, here in Castle Oblivion."

* * *

I sat up, sweat dripping off my forehead. It was just a dream. All just a dream.

It was too real though. Like it actually happened.

Even more disturbing was the girl looked just like Namine. Worse, it was Naminéfor a few moments.

Whatever happened in Castle Oblivion, I only knew the very beginning of it. Or my mind was playing tricks on me.

I looked out my window, pushing it open to allow air in to caress my face. I hadn't seen Naminé in weeks ever since Axel got over his cold and became just as chatty as before, perhaps even more so. Not that I was complaining.

It was early in the morning. I should just get up so maybe I would have time to see her again.

I yawned as I walked to the Grey Area. Strangely, Xigbar was there along with Saïx.

"Come on you gotta do something about the big man's wandering off. What kind of an organization are we if our illustrious leader isn't anywhere to be found?"

Saïx shook his head. "The Superior doesn't inform any of us as to his whereabouts on his outside excursions. Now if you'll excuse me," he gestured to the papers in his hands. "I have assignments to give out and you," he glared at Xigbar, who was unflinching at the narrow yellow eyes of death. "Have a job to do. No excuses."

Xigbar raised his arms up in defense. "Ay, you need to take a chill pill once in a while. Even Xemnas is less of a stick in the mud than you."

Saïx only continued his death glare as Xigbar with a smirk snatched his assignment and promptly left.

The Luna Diviner turned around, two fingers on his temple as he shoved my assignment at me. "You're going with Luxord to a new world today."

Oh joy.

Number X walked in at that precise moment, flipping his cards through his fingers. "Ah yes, indeed Roxas. Our mission together begins now."

This guy was really weird, but can't be any worse than the time I spent with Larxene for one mission.

Arriving in the new world, dubbed 'Wonderland' by the mission brief, the first thing I noticed was a long twisted checkered hallway.

"The game begins. Our hand is set," Luxord said in a low, drawn-out voice, attempting to be cryptic behind his cards. "Our mission is to deal with a Pink Concerto and shadow globs."

"Doubling up on it are we..." I muttered. I took a step forward before I heard a hurried huff above me.

"I'm late! Ohohoho I'm so very late!" Boing! A heavy weight landed on top of my head and launched itself off like I was a springboard. I fell forward on my face to the floor. I looked up and saw a white rabbit scurrying away through a door.

"A rabbit jumped on my head...Highlight of my day." I had enough falling issues trying to get in and out of Namine's room, I didn't need it during missions too.

The world was fuzzy to me for a moment. A guy in red with huge yellow shoes stood before me.

Everything became clear again.

Luxord picked me back up by pulling up on the back of my coat. He looked in the direction of where the rabbit ran off to. "Our lucky rabbit may lead us to our goal. Come along, Number XIII."

I followed after Luxord, hoping he gets jumped instead of me the next time.

We entered a wide room with a table and a tiny—beyond tiny—door on the other side of us. The rabbit ran into a hole, somehow also tiny.

"How did he get so small?" I kneeled down to look at the tiny door with the tiny doorknob. It yawned.

"Must you be so loud?" the doorknob said.

I tilted my head. "Huh? How are you so small?"

The doorknob rolled its eyes with a yawn. "Maybe you're just too big. Try the bottle."

Luxord looked over to the table and eyed two suspicious bottles. One was labeled in blue, the other in red. He picked up the blue bottle and handed it to me. "I believe this is the concoction the particular doorknob spoke of."

I eyed the thing with suspicion. With my luck, I would drink it and a piano would fall on my head. I took a sip.

Everything felt funny. And dizzy. I opened my eyes and found the table was huge. And the table. And the door. I was just as tiny as the rabbit and the doorknob.

I looked up and Luxord was still...Normal? Is that even the word for how strange this place is?

He took a sip of the bottle and just like me he shrunk.

Luxord pointed to the exit the white rabbit fled through. "Come along Roxas we must investigate the strange fellow and find our target."

As we walked Luxord flipped through his cards.

"Why do we have double the targets on this mission?" I said just loud enough for Luxord to say.

The Gambler of Fate put a finger on his chin. "We're short on players if you haven't noticed."

Oh, I definitely did, among other things.

We entered a forest made of lily pads, odd-looking trees, and those tulips were huge. Why did I have the feeling I was once here before? The world was blurry for a moment, and I could have sworn I saw the guy in red right in front of me.

I blinked. The images were gone.

"We're so small we can't really see much of the land beyond," Luxord noted.

I shrugged. "Then we grow right?"

"Hmm... We need the same concoction from the previous room to grow bigger."

"And how exactly do we grow bigger now?" I grumbled. A bright red tulip caught my eye. I walked over to it and it somehow whispered into my ear.

Give me a potion and I will make you bigger.

Good thing I had dozens of those stupid things. I pulled out one and fed it to the tulip and I grew so tall I reached way past the trees of the forest.

Luxord stared at me from by my feet. "My my Roxas! You're brilliant! Now, do you see our target?"

A pink heartless with a striped body floated in the air. There it is. I tapped it in the head with my keyblade and it disappeared without a fuss. That was far too easy.

Now I had a new problem.

"Luxord..." I said, looking down at my feet.

It had occurred to him what the new issue is.

"Ahh right," Luxord walked over to the tulip. "Well then precarious flower, what is your secret to size reduction?" A moment. "A mushroom?" He furrowed his brows and shrugged. "The flower says to eat the underside of a mushroom."

I reached down and plucked a piece out from underneath a mushroom. I tossed the tiny piece into my mouth and I shrank back down to...er normalish size.

Luxord was now taller than me once again. "Well then we shall continue our mission," Luxord said, looking through his cards again. "Shadow globs are the last on our list."

"I didn't see a single one during my time up there," I said.

We walked through the forest and came upon a castle courtyard. The castle in the distance had shadow globs covering every inch of it.

And everything was huge. Why were we so small? I looked up to see a giant hoop over our heads.

"It appears we're the tiny ones in this predicament." Luxord put a hand on his chin as he thought out loud. "How odd the logic of this world is."

"Bring me my ball!" a shrill whiny voice yelled into my ears. I winced back a few steps from how obnoxiously loud that voice was. I looked up to see a woman in an ugly checkered dress with a crown on her head. In her hand was a red heart fan. She set it down and grabbed a flamingo by the legs, holding it upside-down.

"Roxas!" Luxord called out to me, being grabbed by the...Card soldier and put into place by the beak of the queen's flamingo.

Luxord looked up in horror as the queen raised the flamingo up to wack. I panicked and wondered exactly what I could even do. There was a mushroom in the corner of the bushes. I dived for the topside of the mushroom in desperation and took a bite. I grew to normal size and pointed my keyblade at the Queen of Hearts, shooting out a tiny zap of lightning to get her to drop the flamingo.

"Ouch! What fool dare harm me? The Queen of Hearts!" she screeched, clutching her hand as if it were in severe pain.

What a drama queen.

My blood ran cold when her eyes went to me. She raised her heart-shaped fan and screeched even louder than I thought possible. "Attempt of murder and theft! Arrest him!"

Oh crap, wait, what did I even attempt to steal?!

Before I knew it I was inside a cage. Just great. I summoned Kingdom Key to my grip and tried tapping it on the bars, but it was super sturdy. That or I lacked the strength to just simply bisect this dumb cage.

I looked up at the Queen yelling at her guards to set up some device called the guillotine. I wasn't sure what that was but it didn't sound good. In the distance was her castle, covered in shadow globs. The darkness radiating off the Queen of Hearts was probably a homing beacon to the shadow globs.

Kingdom Key jerked in my grip, pulling me forward towards the lock. A beam of light shot out, unlocking the cage door. Well, that was easy.

Key. Blade. Wow, I was an idiot.

I pushed the cage door open but all the cards pointed their spears at me.

I was ready to fight them all off when a loud, loud rumble shook the ground. The cards fell over on themselves, allowing me to run out of the cage.

Luxord was enormous. He had to be at least 30 feet tall, probably even more. Just how much grow mushroom did he eat?

The Queen of Hearts ducked down behind her throne, cowering behind her fan.

Two Heartless appeared in front of me, flipping fire in their long card like limbs. Great more surprised.

Luxord leaned down and plucked them from the ground and folded them in, presenting them to me in a neat little package. "Here, Roxas, collect their hearts."

I quirked an eyebrow as I stabbed them in the face. Their bodies faded and the hearts flew into the sky.

"I tried several mushrooms to see what would happen," Luxord simply explained, his voice booming across the courtyard.

It took all of my willpower to not lift my palm to my forehead. "So much for putting in effort into my work..."

"Now," Luxord turned to the castle. "To dispose of this." He picked up the dark castle and crushed it into a ball. He placed it down in front of me. "Destroy it with your keyblade Roxas!"

With a roll of my eyes, I lifted Kingdom Key up and slashed at the blob of shadow.

The Queen looked up from her hiding spot to see her precious castle crushed before her eyes. There was nothing left of the building once I dashed the last bit of the blob.

She sat there, crying over her castle. Her screeches turned into whines, which wasn't much of an improvement.

"O-Off with their heads! My castle! Waaah!" She rained down many tears, so much so that the White Rabbit had to get an umbrella.

Luxord reached his finger down to wipe away her tears. "Don't cry, madam." With a snap of his free hand, a new castle made of cards formed in the place where the old castle was. "I'm weak against the tears of a lady. If you like, use this to shelter yourself from wind and rain."

The Queen stared at the castle of cards, hearts in her eyes.

"Come along Roxas we much RTC," Luxord said, making his way to the dark corridor.

A voice behind me startled me out of my skin.

"Ohoho quite an ending indeed."

I whipped around and saw a floating purple cat. It smirked as it spoke more. "What a pitiful queen. To have her heart stolen by another who has none."

I tucked my hood over my head. "Her heart was stolen?"

The cat danced onto its other foot as if it was standing on an invisible platform. "Oh you too, lack one, supposedly. A stolen heart yes. Kindness beyond measure wins the hearts of many. A certainly great stratagem from beings like you."

"But..." I protested that sentiment. "I don't do nice things to get something out of it."

The cat disappeared.

I caught up to Luxord at the portal. I crossed my arms at him. "Saïx won't let you back into the castle-like that you know."

He flipped his cards in his fingers. "Fine. You're so uptight for someone with the keyblade."

On our way back, with Luxord a normal size. He inspected our report. "Well well, this mission was a great success wouldn't you say?"

Weirdest mission more like. I shrugged with an indifferent "yes."

"We were in luck that we followed that white rabbit. Your curious mind led us to our goals," he said. "It carved your fate."

Ah right back to the weird metaphors for existence. "Eh? It was just pure chance," I said.

"Gamblers are predictors of 'chance.' You're a gambler in the making, but mark my words, curiosity will carve the path to your fate, but it can also bring about the prelude to certain doom."

* * *

Axel was already at the clock tower. "Heh. I heard you had fun in your mission," he remarked, looking at my still-bewildered face. I sat down with an ice cream in hand.

"Is that what they call it?" I asked, taking a bite of my ice cream.

"Saïx is having one heck of a time trying to figure out half the report," Axel leaned back, arms behind his head.

How else would one even remotely describe the talking cat and the walking cards? "Uhh, yeah, I don't blame him."

Something burned at my mind, even as I watched the sunset.

"Hey, Axel," I said. "How does one, 'steal a heart?'"

His eyes widened. "What?"

"Someone said that a heart was stolen. Like, did Heartless steal it? Or was it something else?"

Axel sat back up. "Well um, it's a figure of speech. It means uh, wowing someone so much they're head over heels or something for the person. Imagine having your breath stolen and leaving you speechless because of an act or just even standing there."

"That sounds...Weird," I said.

He shook his head. "You have no idea..."

I stood up, desiring to sneak off and spend some time with Naminéfor the first time in weeks. "I need to leave before it's too late in the day."

"Oh?"

"I got stuff to do. I like to take a stroll around town. Got bored while you were gone," I said, my half-truth hopefully slipping out without a hitch.

Axel nodded. "Well then, see ya later, man."

I walked through the town and arrived in front of the mansion. Fuzzy images returned to my vision. It was the guy in red again, but in front of him was Vexen baring his own shield.

The image was gone.

I climbed up the wall and only managed to fall on my face/back a total of 3 times. I stumbled into Namine's room and she looked up from her sketchbook so startled by my sudden appearance.

I swallowed. "H-Hi Naminé."

It took her a moment before she spoke to me. "Hello, Roxas. I um...I didn't expect you."

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah I uh, wasn't able to uh, find the time until now."

"Oh. Right. The Organization takes priority." She put a hand over her mouth as soon as she realized what she had said. "I-I mean..."

My heads reached up to remove my hood. "It's okay. So you know of the Organization?"

"I don't know how she got out. In there one minute, gone the next."

She nodded. "I was... Working under them once." She pleaded to me with just her glistening eyes. It was a silent favor being asked.

Don't tell them about her whereabouts. "That's fine, Naminé," I said, trying to break the awkwardness. A smile curled up on my lips. "I won't go telling them about you if you don't want me to."

Relief washed over her face. Her tight shoulders relaxed. She also smiled, standing up and putting her sketchbook down. Her hands hugged herself. "Thank you, Roxas."

Her standing there in her dress, her hair swaying with each movement, somehow it moved me in ways I couldn't convey in words.

My breath was stopped short. Wow.

"So, Roxas, how was your day?" she asked me, breaking me out of my daze.

Oh crap, she's trying to talk to me about other things. "Uh, weird to be honest," I forced my mouth to spit out. "To go into all the details, I'm not even sure the Organization even believes me."

She sat down again, sketchbook in one hand, pencil in the other. "Well then, I've got time if you do."

I pulled up a chair to sit next to her. "It started with a white rabbit falling on my head."

"As all white rabbits do," she said, a hint of amusement in her tone. She was trying to fight a smile and failing.

"Then," I said, "I saw a guy in red with these huge, and I mean huge yellow shoes. Like he wore bananas on his feet."

Naminé didn't laugh. I panicked. Her pencil dropped on top of her sketchbook.

"W-What? A person in red?" she said.

Oh crap. "Y-Yeah?"

She tilted her head at me, analyzing me, looking at my hair, then to my face, and stared deeply into my eyes.

"I knew it," she mumbled.

"Huh?" I was so confused right now.

"The boy's name is Sora," Naminé simply said. "You and he are connected."

What? "Whoa, okay um, back up," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "That's Sora?"

She nodded. "The boy in red? Impossibly spikey hair? Yes, that's him."

"And we're connected?" Now that I thought about it, my dream from last night, that impossibly real dream, it was from Sora's point of view. My dream put me into his shoes. "Huh."

"And you're seeing images of him, right?" Naminéasked. "How very strange."

I sat back in my seat, my hand still resting on her shoulder. "Yeah...Very strange."

Naminé picked up her pencil. "So, continue?"

I was all too happy to tell her about my misadventures in Wonderland. My brain was overloaded with questions about Sora that I couldn't quite ask yet.

Who was Sora? Why was I connected to him? Why is it I was seeing him in my world view? And more importantly, what were those dreams?

* * *

Two kids sat on the ground in a cave. White drawings covered the rocks. I looked over the two kids to see them drawing the other. One with impossibly spikey hair and the other with long locks flowing down her head.

The kids disappeared, but my hand, wearing a white glove, reached out to the drawing with a thick piece of a stick and began drawing a star with a hand.

I stepped back and I noticed the girl with red locks again. "K—i!" I called out to her, not in my own voice.

She turned around, looking weak and ready to fall over. "Sora."

The door opened and she was blasted towards me. Before I could even catch her she simply disappeared.

My eyes snapped open. Sweat dripped off my forehead. I had to get out of this coat, now. I tossed it off and opened my window for some air. My breathing slowed as I thought about my dreams.

Sora and I were connected, somehow. Naminéknows that we are connected. I wonder if she ever met Sora. I cannot help but wonder if the Organization knows as well.

But was I truly even ready to ask these questions? I dreaded in my gut to know the answers I am dying to know if that conversation between Saïx and Axel is any indication of my dread.

* * *

_Secret Report 04_

That Roxas kid sure has a lot on his plate as the only keyblade wielder in our ranks. I bet Saïx will pile on even more missions onto his plate as time goes on.

The game is set and matched. Roxas has his hand, Xemnas has his. Now all I can do is watch and wait, knowing that I am merely the audience left out of the loop. Saïx knows about Castle Oblivion. As does Axel, but good luck to any person trying to worm those details out of them. I have a distinct feeling Xigbar knows as well, but he dodges questions with a very clever poker face.

Oh well. Perhaps this player in the game has run out his hand and can only wait for the end results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with Roxas and Namine's relationship, they're not exactly above keeping all the secrets from each other. ;)
> 
> Thank you all for the support! See you next chapter!


	5. Sacred Moon

_Chapter V: Scared Moon_

_We all have enough but steal from each other; chasing the shadow of love._

* * *

"Do you want to talk about..." she twiddled her thumbs. I finished my mission early that afternoon.

I held up a hand to stop her. "No, no thanks, Naminé."

She picked up her pencil with not a single hint of frustration. "That's okay. Can you tell me what to draw next?"

I was content to sit there watching her draw the dark sky of the World that Never Was. That was the day after I was told who the guy in red was.

It has been over a month since Naminé told me about Sora now.

Sora, Sora, Sora.

I didn't want to know about my connection to him anymore. I feared more than anything, what Naminé's answer would be. Luxord's words were like a gnawing gnat on my brain.

_"Curiosity will carve the path to your fate, but it can also bring about the prelude to certain doom."_

Shut up brain.

I tossed around in my bed. Knowing, even just knowing that Saïx was after Naminé, that put her at risk. But I couldn't just drop her forever. My chest squeezed tight every time I thought of doing that.

The morning started like any other, only this time Xaldin was baffled about his orders. "You want me to do what?" he grumbled.

Saïx glared at him. "Are you questioning your orders?"

Xaldin glared right back and left through a corridor.

Saïx presented me with a look of indifference as per usual, then he pointed his finger at Demyx lazying on the couch. "You will be investigating a new world today with Demyx, along with collecting hearts."

Always the same, collecting more and more hearts.

I looked past Saïx's tallness to see Demyx staring at me with wide eyes. I tucked my hood over my head, my brows furrowed in annoyance already.

Demyx visibly swallowed. "Heya Roxas."

* * *

The two of us stepped out of a dark corridor to a bright golden place. Giant statues of buff guys stood with spears and shields in their hands. They seemed to be overlooking a bunch of large doors.

"Man the sun is bright and obnoxious," Demyx whined. "Still better than that Agrabah place though."

No kidding. "We're doing recon, right?"

Demyx nodded. "Yep."

I walked forward two steps and Heartless appeared before us. Demyx whipped out his sitar and began playing. Before I could even yell at him to stop slacking off the Heartless were launched into the air by pillars of water.

So maybe there was more to Demyx than I thought.

He stood there, playing his sitar as if nothing happened.

"Better watch out for the Heartless," he said, totally feigning lack of awareness of the Heartless he just blasted sky-high.

I shrugged and began walking closer to the statues to observe them farther.

"This place looks like tough people show here," I said, noticing a lot of detail on the statues' muscles.

"Ugh reminds me of the gym which means sweating which means gross," Demyx whined. "I will sit that out thanks."

I rolled my eyes, reaching out to the door to pull on the large circular handle only for it to move. I was frozen on the spot, staring with wide eyes as a short goat-man stepped out.

"Hey hey! You must be the newbie. I gotta tell ya, you're a lot smaller and thinner than I thought ya would be," the goat-man said.

I wasn't sure to be insulted or flattered. Insulted because that must mean I am a wimp to the common eye—including the Organization no doubt—or flattered because I had an advantage of speed.

"Um uh..." I scratched the back of my head. I looked to my right and Demyx was gone. Great. "Thanks?"

I was gonna be in trouble for sure. I couldn't get caught easily by other people like this.

"Oh right. Name's Phil," the goat man said. He turned around and marched back inside. "Come on in, we'll discuss the nitty-gritty."

It's not like I had an option to just leave. But if I could learn more about this place, might as well.

I walked inside. A warm room with trophies decorating the walls greeted me.

"What's your name kid?" Phil asked me, a piece of paper and own in his hands.

"Uh."

_Do you remember your true name?_

"Roxas," I said.

"Interesting name. So have you ever run the gauntlet before, Roxas?"

"The what?"

"I see, very much a rookie. Alright then. We'll start off your training nice and easy." Phil walked out of the small room and into a wide arena. No one sat in the stands, but somehow I felt we were being watched by an audience anyways.

"The rules are simple. Some small fry heartless are in those barrels, some are not. Get rid of them by any means. Show me what you can do, kid."

Small fry? That's it? I shrugged and walked into the arena full of barrels and summoned my keyblade. I tapped a barrel with the tip and a bat-hook Heartless popped out. Without even breaking a sweat I tapped it again and it disappeared.

I looked over at Phil. "Got anything stronger?"

Phil crossed his arms. "Alright alright, smart aleck. You want tougher, hit more barrels."

I tossed my keyblade at a row of barrels. More heartless popped out, but not just hook bats this time. Instead, it was a barrage of crimson fires. They launched balls of fire at me. I dodged with ease. I even managed to launch some of them right back with my keyblade. I threw some ice crystals at them and they disappeared, hearts vanishing into thin air.

Phil stroked his beard. "Not bad kid, not bad."

I felt...What was it? Prideful? At his comment.

Phil lifted up new barrels for me to bash in. More and more Heartless popped out and I slew them.

Eventually, however, it was getting harder and harder to keep up. Simple small fry heartless was becoming more and more difficult to destroy. It took more and more effort to get rid of one after another.

Eventually, I collapsed on my butt, keyblade falling out of my grip. I gasped for air.

"You got strength kid but lack stamina," Phil said. "A hero should be able to go for longer than a few rounds against small fry."

"A...H-Hero?" I breathed out.

"Yeah. Hero training is serious business; requires more than just strength alone."

At that moment, a Heartless Meteorite appeared. Figures.

Phil nearly jumped out of his skin. "Run kid! That Heartless is huge! I will get Herc!" He ran out of the arena.

I grabbed my keyblade, pushing myself back up to stand. The Meteorite began spinning right at me. It pushed me back, clinging against my keyblade.

What could I give for a nap right now. I held my stance against the spinning Heartless. It just kept going and going.

It finally spun itself into dizziness. I charged, with much effort, at the Heartless. Its head on the very top of its spiked body looked up to see me bash it in with my keyblade. I wailed at it until it shook and shuttered. A heart burst forth from its body into the unknown.

Sweat dripped off my forehead, making my bangs stick to my face. I totally needed a bad hair day.

The fuzzy images of Sora plagued my vision. He whipped around his keyblade, resting it on his shoulder with triumph.

I should leave before anything else happens. Moving out of the coliseum, I rested against the wall next to where our dark corridor opened up.

Demyx walked over, sitar in his hands like nothing happened. "So how'd it go Roxas?" he asked nonchalantly.

I glared at him, making him stop strumming. "I found more Heartless." I wiped the sweat off my forehead. "Along with information, that you get to write down in our report." I opened a dark corridor. "I'm too tired to do so."

Demyx swallowed. "What am I writing?" he said, following me back to the castle.

"This is a place where heroes train, and I can get into the arena if I want. Might be useful for Heartless extermination or something," I said, still feeling the ache in my muscles.

The visions of Sora back there...Sora had once trained under Phil before. He competed in tournaments, surely. Maybe all the trophies in that room, one of them might have his name on them. Sora had been to all these worlds now that I thought about it. His presence in my dreams in various places, they were all from worlds I had been to, and then some.

When we returned, Demyx sat down to write the report with a pout. I dragged myself to my room and laid down on my bed.

I couldn't just hide from the truth anymore. I just couldn't.

I was exhausted from today's training, but I needed to talk to Naminé. Not that I wanted to just for information, but because she was always...Somehow comforting to talk to.

A good friend through and through.

Of course, I also had to go meet Axel at the clock tower before I worried him.

I dragged myself off my bed and slumped over to Twilight Town. I thought about Sora again, and Naminé. Sora. Naminé.

"Hey Axel," I asked. "Can you tell me about what you remember from before you were a Nobody?"

Axel's eyes widened, he choked on his ice cream and coughed a little. "Um, well. The person you see before you? Yeah just imagine me but without the coat and the tats."

Trying to picture him without the tattoos under his eyes was impossible. "Really?"

"Yeah. Sometimes people don't really change all that much. Some people..." Axel took the popsicle stick out of his mouth. "However, do."

"Do you think I've changed since before I was a Nobody?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "With how much of a zombie you were months ago? Yeah, I'd say you have."

"How?"

"Well, you have no memories right? That makes you special. You developed your own sense of self if that makes sense." Axel leaned back against the clock, looking at the sunset. "Once you're whole, you'll be a completely different person from who you once were."

That wasn't terrifying to think about. "It would be nice to know who I was before I became a Nobody..."

Axel placed a hand on my shoulder. "Sometimes Roxas, it's best not knowing. You might not like what you see, now that you're different."

He was right. I didn't really want to know, deep down. I knew that Sora was connected to me, to my past, somehow. But what if I didn't like what I saw? I avoided talking about it with Naminé for so long.

Perhaps it was best I didn't ask. I didn't want to know anymore.

I went to the mansion and only stumbled once thanks to my fatigue.

Naminé continued on with her drawings as per usual. "How was your mission today? You look tired," she asked in a gentle yet concerned tone. She reached out to my cheek and brushed her palm over it. "You're hot to the touch."

I nodded, feeling how soft her dainty hands were. "I'm fine Naminé. I got a training session from a weird goat-man today."

She pulled her hand away and laughed. A full-on laugh, like a string of musical notes. "A weird goat-man tired you out?"

I put up my hands in defense. "Hey he made me bash countless Heartless in until I dropped, then another large one appeared and Demyx was off being lazy so I had to get rid of that too!"

She had a cheeky grin on her soft lips. "Poor Roxas needs a nap?"

I leaned on her shoulder, my cheek against her silky locks. "Need an extended nap. Nap all day if I must."

She continued drawing, not even showing signs of discomfort of me invading her personal space. She drew me in my black coat, sleeping in a wide area of sand under the stars.

"What's that?" I asked. "Where am I?"

"It's the beach," she said. "There's sand and the ocean and the sky is vast and wide, not obscured by anything..."

"It sounds fun..." I muttered with a yawn. "I'd like to go there someday. Will you go with me?" And I would bring Axel too along.

She turned her head to face me as best as possible. "Me?"

"Yeah. You're my friend right? Isn't the beach better with friends?" I asked.

The smile came back to her lips, but this time softer and more sincere. "Yes...Yes, it is."

* * *

I dreamed. And dreamed.

_"Give me a break K—i!"_  I said, trying to defend myself, sitting up on my knees in the white sand of the beach.

_"Sora you lazy bum, I knew I would find you snoozing down here."_

* * *

_Secret Report 05_

Xemnas really insists on me finding this dumb chamber, isn't he? He'll send me away after our vacation day to Castle Oblivion to find it. Blegh, I get one day of nothing but naps and then immediately back to work.

Talking to Roxas reminded me of the good ol' days before I became...Whatever I am currently. I still feel like myself, right? I can talk to Roxas more and more about it if he asks, but the kid isn't exactly a chatterbox. Funny how Sora talked a lot yet his Nobody is quieter. I at least can confide some of my old memories in him. Not to Saïx.

Saïx says I have changed, but I don't believe that for a second. He is nothing like my best friend anymore. Heh, Roxas was like Isa in a way, quiet, sometimes a smart-aleck.

I'm still Lea, in a way. Saïx has nothing in common with Isa.

You're the one who changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to review! :D


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